IF YOU WORK FOR SCIENTOLOGY YOU'LL END UP SMELLING REALLY BAD, NO REALLY .... and ANOTHER STORY OF WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LEAVE SCIENTOLOGY

I have written a number of articles concerning the Miscavige “Ideal Orgs” scam.

I have compared it to policy and shown it is squirrel. I have pointed out how it has destroyed the LRH Birthday Game and the idea of staff moving up to OT.

But this write up puts everything into perspective. Strip away the hype and hoopla, the lies and false promises and this story tells of reality.

This is not just ANY “Ideal Org” it is one of the first 3 in the world. And arguably the one Miscavige was most proud of and made the biggest deal about. It was also arguably correct to move the org at that time. The old org had been located in what had become an extremely unsafe area in the downtown Joburg central business district. One staff member had been murdered outside the org for his shoes. Carjackings and robberies were routine.

Miscavige had brought the then CO CMO Africa to Flag to personally oversee the space planning and designs for the new org.

Missions were fired to recruit and train staff, do the renovations and construction, clean up the org files and in early November 2003, amidst much fanfare and promise of this heralding the first “Clear Country,” David Miscavige and entourage jetted into town on Tom Cruise’s Gulfstream IV and presided over the ribbon cutting.

It is almost 10 years since the Joburg Org ribbon was cut to become the 3^rd “Ideal Org” on earth. Plenty of time for his strategy to have proven successful in the real world. According to Miscavige’s hype, by this time Joburg should be a HUGE org, with at least 20 flourishing Missions, many of which have themselves turned into orgs and Joburg should have become an Advance Org. The staff should all be OT. They should all be well paid.  There should be field groups and Social Betterment groups, Test Centers, Dianetics Counseling Groups and everything else that emanates from an “Ideal Org.”  This is not what I say – this is what Miscavige has promoted for a decade now.

Well, let’s see how this measures up to the actual state of affairs as reported by our Johannesburg correspondent. He shall remain anonymous, so some details have been changed to help mask his identity. But I can assure you, this IS the scene in this org – and there are many other “Ideal Orgs” that are just as bad, and plenty that are worse with mounting unpaid utilities bills, phones shut off, empty courserooms, no auditors etc etc.

Here is the first “Dispatch From Africa”:

OHANNESBU G “Ideal Org” today

Saint Hill Size? Not Even Close

This is the current count of staff in the orgs:

Day:

Total Cl V Staff (non SO):           35         (this includes weird part-time and some-  time schedules)

Total SO posted in the org:         6        (ED, LC, FBO, D/FBO MORE, FR, Estates Manager)

Total Staff JBG D:                         41

Fdn:

Total Cl V Staff (non SO):             12          (includes weird part-time and some-time schedules)

Total SO posted in the org:           5         (LC, FBO, D/FBO MORE, FR, Estates Manager)

 Total Staff JBG FDN:                    17

Of course presenting these figures will probably be met with huge opposition because I am sure the QSH figure and Crew Lists will differ wildly. And there is good reason for this. For instance, one staff member left due to a collapsing business, another for medical reasons, yet another had 2d problems, yet another was on the OT levels for more than a year and all of these “staff” were counted on the crew list for months after their departure. And we are talking execs here, not mere staff.   And they have all sorts of “hopefully going to be arriving some time in the next millennia but on a a looooooong project prepare for now” – the minute that contract is signed they are counted and “on staff” so God knows what their figures would look like in comparison to what has been given you here.

I have counted the actual BODIES ON POST IN PT.

To give you an idea of the dismal state of Joburg staff, there was a massive recruit drive in mid 2011 when Joburg got up to about 65 staff (not including the SO contingent which numbers 6). Since then the staff compliment has dwindled down to approx 35 staff, a loss of about 30 staff in just over a year. When Joburg Day was declared “SH Size” in March 2005 there were 115+ staff, thanks to a huge push by both the Joburg Org and its public who joined forces in bringing this about with NO help from Int Management. Unfortunately this camaraderie between org and public was transient due to the over-regging and incessant demands of its public with very little tech delivery in exchange.

Universe Corps:

In May 2005 a 3 man Universe Corps arrived in Joburg with much fanfare and excitement.

Between May and December there was a lot of action on staff enhancement and I believe 6-8 staff clears were made. Study for staff was mandatory. It was an exciting time.

In January 2006 the UC I/C, Cat Fox, went on leave. She made a detour through LA and for reasons that have never been adequately explained she never returned (we were told “correction”). The other two members of the team (an Auditor and an admin person) stayed behind for another 8 months or so trying to keep the auditing going but they, too, were eventually recalled. And so ended that dream.

There was an attempt to resurrect it all when a 2 man team arrived in Joburg in 2007. A bunch of auditing happened but no clears, no real progress. They too were recalled sometime in 2008.  The staff were told at a few musters that there was no way they would come back with the org in the state it was (by then things had turned really sour and staff numbers had reduced) and we’d have to “get our shit together” before they returned. It all became the staff’s fault that the UC was no longer there.

Numerous people signed up for staff at the promise of getting their OT levels when we went Saint Hill size. By 2007 their contracts were up and the promise of OT was clearly not going to happen and so they left.

Current Staff Situation:

Joburg org has been left in tatters due to the caliber, training level and hierarchy of staff departing its ranks in recent times. For instance, it lost ALL its Div4 Course Sups, word clearers and Qual contingent, including the Snr C/S. The Div6 sup had to be posted in the Div4 Academy, but she too has since departed, necessitating them having to take one of their most highly qualified auditors and post him as their ONLY sup. They also lost most of their HCO staff and their ONLY reg, resulting in the ED spending 90% of his time on handling GI flaps – that is when he isn’t running around trying to raise funds for the incessant and insane IAS fund-raising quotas.  And the DSA who was also the President of the Church left after some 25 years of service. He was the spokesperson for the Church and was, in my opinion, a HUGE asset to the org. His unannounced departure did not go unnoticed amongst the public. His wife, the Chaplain of the org (a vital post owing to the amount of upset and ARC-X field) also departed. Today there is no DSA and no Chaplain posted which leaves Joburg in a very vulnerable position. The D/ED who was on staff for more than 13 years also left recently. By my estimate, Joburg org has recently lost staff whose combined staff experience spanned in excess of 150 years of service.

A sorry state of affairs indeed.

Public Divisions Decimation:

Just to top it all, in 2011 after the Joburg public rallied yet again to raise millions for the org to upgrade its premises, which included the building of 8 brand-new Div6 course rooms, they have no staff to man these course rooms which have remained empty and idle for the past 18 months.

A big recruitment drive in 2011/2012 saw the Public Divisions being built back up and there were even staff to man the Braamfontein test Centre which had been closed and standing empty for some months. But then a CMO Int DISestablishment Mission arrived and ripped a bunch off and others left for various reasons.

HCO made some attempt to replace the losses but this was with green, non-SCN cannon fodder that very shortly blew.   Today, there are no more than 7 staff in the Public Divisions responsible for running both the org and Test Centre – that’s a total of 18 Depts.

It’s like a veritable morgue now – an Idle Morgue.

As one staff member said: “The truth is that Joburg Org is no longer, by definition, a Class V Org. It is probably more of a “City Office” or Mission. It should DEFINITELY not be running a full Div6”. But they would NEVER admit to this – to do so would be a fate worse than death!

Staff Pay:

The pay is dismal. The average executive earned a weekly average of R260 ($28). A “good week” was R525 ($53) – And this was with high stats which meant a 20% bonus. AND it was probably a very good week for the org – included some IAS Commissions after some fundraiser or something.

Staff pay is a repeating and ongoing problem. Staff (often wogs) were being recruited and were not told about the pay situation (understand these were below-the-breadline-probably-couldn’t-get-gainful-employment-anywhere-else folk). These guys usually stayed very far away from the org necessitating most of them to travel to work daily by taxi (South Africa has an appalling public transport system). It was heartbreaking to see staff eagerly get their pay at the end of the week only to be presented with R100 ($10) – often less – when their taxi fare for the week was way in excess of what they were being paid.

I observed other staff (who were not relying on org pay for survival) often give of their own money to the most desperate of staff. I myself even on occasion bought lunch for other staff members as I could see that they were starving and had no money.

The situation is getting worse, not better.  Of late it has not been uncommon to hear it announced that “There was “no GI” this week.”  Average staff pay this year is between R150 – R200 ($16 – $22) per week. 

It is no wonder to me that when these “wog” staff blow (as 90% of them do), they take their uniforms with them – and probably sell them to “defray expenses”. I can’t blame them!

Uniforms, Oh My God:

Each Ideal Org is now issued with uniforms for their staff at a cost of R10,000 ($1076) per staff member.  And although these uniforms look very smart, they were NOT designed for warm-weather climates (most of the items are wool). The temperatures in South Africa can reach as high as 35⁰C (105⁰F) in summer so one can only imagine how uncomfortable it can become for the staff, especially when they are expected to wear full uniform (including waistcoat and jacket) at all events.

And just for kickers, the uniforms have to be dry-cleaned! This is NOT a cheap service in South Africa. To clean ONE pair of pants costs R40 ($4.50) and the coat costs over R100 ($10). Standard issue is two pairs of trousers, two jackets, waistcoats and a coat which all require dry-cleaning. Needless to say, in very short order the staff start looking terrible as they either don’t clean their uniforms (can you imagine the stench at muster) or they ignore the “do not wash” labels and very soon the uniform has shrunk and/or is horribly creased from being washed. And the white shirts have all become a yellowish grey colour from the cheap soap powder being used. (Actually the uniform saga is probably an article all on its own as I am sure South Africa is not the only Org battling the “uniform engram”).

Clearing Joburg –  How?

Joburg Org has 5 auditors on day and 0 on Fdn. Up until December they had 6 Auditors, but then one of the auditors was ripped off post to become the Course Sup (the previous Sup would NOT renew her contract and has now left).  So a Flag Trained Class V HGC Auditor was put into the Academy and promoted as being the new “Co-Audit Sup” (in actual fact he is the ONLY Sup).

The “speciality” of Joburg Day is to almost exclusively reg and service overseas PC’s as they pay mega-moola for huge chunks of intensives at a time (they can afford to because of the exchange rate). This means our local PCs end up waiting for ever (sometimes years) to get into session, very often being driven to desperation and waiting their compulsory two years before going to a field auditor or mission.

The overseas PCs then demand intensive and exclusive auditing (as their time is limited) so we usually have at least two of our auditors exclusively and intensively auditing only 1 or 2 PC’s.

If one then works this back, say 2 of the auditors are each auditing 2 PC’s = 4 PC’s and the other 3 are auditing 4 a piece = 12 PC’s = a total of 16 PC’s being serviced in the HGC.

And the number of pissed off, upset and “blown” PC’s? – Well they are literally littering the field.

I can rattle off the names of at least 10 other public that I personally know have blown the JBG Org HGC and gone to other orgs or are waiting for the “2 year rule” and will then go to a Field Auditor or Mission.

Clears:

Joburg org can no longer make Clears – it has not been able to do this for about 4 years now, as it cannot deliver the CCRD. Our NED Completions have to go to an AO as there is no org in South Africa that can deliver the CCRD. Our previous Snr C/S (Tracy Henley – previously Corbett) left staff in 2009/2010 as did about 15 other tech staff (most flag trained) over a period of 2 or 3 years.

Tracy now runs her own field practice and funnily enough employs ex JBG Org staff and I believe pays them handsomely – she has about 7 ex JBG D Staff in her employ, and rumour has it that her average staff member earns R12,0000 ($1300) per month..

The funny thing though, is that although Tracy more than qualifies to become a Mission I suspect she won’t because she does not want SMI Control all over her lines.

Training Auditors for the future?:

As for auditors being made, according to a recent Understanding Mag (issue 393 – Feb 2013?) these are the completions for the past YEAR: 

Pro Metering:             1 Graduate

Level 0:                         2 Graduates

Level I:                          1 Graduate

Level II:                         1 Graduate (this guy has been on his “levels” for 2 years)

Level III:                       1 Graduate (this lady took 1 year to get through her metering video, and finally had to go to Cape Town to get a                         pass in 2011. She is a public hoping to open her own field group and as far as I know, is yet to take a PC into session).

Cl IV Internship:        3 graduates (Two of these graduates are family from the almost-totally-defunct Chartwell Mission who has exactly 3 staff members. The other graduate is an auditor on Joburg org staff and is the ONLY man left standing from the 12+ strong 2004 TTC – it’s taken him 9 YEARS to achieve this level).

Students on Course and PC’s in the HGC:

Before the CMO Disestab Mission in 2011, the Bodies in the Shop were correctly reported at around 20.  The Mission then did some “hatting” on how to count the stat and “all-hands” call in every day (in addition to IAS Regging, event call in, booksales etc) and soon the figure headed towards 100, then 200, the sky is the limit. Now included in this figure is ANYONE who puts their foot near the org for ANYTHING (including advice, having a coffee in the canteen or a Reg Interview etc) – the rationale being that by them being in the org, we were “servicing” them and if they had ANYTHING on account (which 90% of our public do), then they “were in and on a paid service”. This inflated false stat even includes bodies being delivered to outside the org – some of the PE delivery took place at outside businesses or other venues, and these too were counted as BIS, so too assists delivered by Volunteer Ministers at people’s houses and anyone who sends in a lesson from an Ext Course.

Most days there are at best a couple of students on course. Sometimes there are a few staff in the Academy, perhaps 2 or 3, but normally one or two public.

Joburg org does not push training – as it does not pay………. As an auditor, this deeply saddens me as some of my best wins have come from training.

Missions:

There are 4 Missions in and around Joburg and only one of these is producing anything worth mentioning. We are in the process of gathering more detailed information on the current state of these Missions and will post on this shortly.

Summary:

In summary, Joburg org is crippled with mounting debt and unhatted, overworked, underpaid and demoralized staff. Its field is frazzled and ARCX from the constant fund raising and regging and lack of delivery. It is so far departed from the Joburg Org of yesteryear (when public and staff were proud people “carrying the torch for freedom”) as to be unrecognizable today.

A Very Concerned South African Scientologist.

http://www.mikerindersblog.org/johannesburg-ideal-org-truth-revealed/

Leaving Scientology

Leaving Scientology is not necessarily easy. Often it is very difficult. I have no proven method of how to accomplish this and all I can do is try to help, through my own experience, to regain one’s freedom that has been  denied by Scientology. When I say freedom, I actually mean, very simply, the regaining of one’s life after leaving the Organization.

Personally, I have no faith or trust, now, in any of Hubbard’s teachings.

I believe that to actually leave Scientology, it is important  to understand why one entered the Organization in the first place and more importantly, what happened to that individual in those first days, weeks, or, at the most, months. Understanding what happened during this early period, I believe, is fundamental to what actually happens to one’s mind.

I think almost everybody that became involved with the cult, did so because they wanted to become a better person and having experienced a starter course or something similar, were impressed by the effectiveness of the technology. Most people felt that they were accepted and considered by the people that were around them in the Organization, with their friendliness and ‘easy to talk to’ attitude.

The idea of ‘changing the world’, I think, comes very slightly later. It is a personal success, first, that leads to the idea that Scientology is the only means to live one’s life. Thus, later on, the idea that Scientology is the only salvation for the world.

As you can see, it takes very little to become convinced that Scientology not only works but is, in fact, the only way to live one’s life.

At the beginning, of course, you are a ‘newbie’ and you look towards the members that have attained a certain level  in the Organization as being almost sacred beings. You have no idea what they have studied or done, but there is a sense of awe towards these people. They are ‘better’ than you because they  have gone to a higher level. Of course, they never talk about what they have achieved and you just assume that they are controlling their environment, doing well and are very affluent. You never ask them and you never expect them to reveal to you what they have done. It is a total situation of mysticism. But you like it, because it gives you a goal to attain. This, in fact, is the moment where being part of Scientology begins to take over and control one’s mind. You are not an individual anymore. On the contrary, you are a Scientologist.

Firstly, however, it is important to realize that Hubbard wrote the book ‘Dianetics’ way back in 1950. There had been, a few years earlier, a World War, and when it ended in 1945, people were beginning to change their attitude to life. It was  a time of renewal and people were looking for an alternative way of living and thinking, with an idea of freedom of thought. Certainly, Hubbard pounced on this desire of the people, and, seemingly out of nothing, there appeared a new  ‘personal betterment’ book called Dianetics. Hubbard had always been a prolific writer of science fiction and this new book, Dianetics, was his latest addition to a long string of popular works.

In the book Dianetics, Hubbard talks at length of the scientific proof and inexhaustible auditing cycles that had been carried out previous to the writing of the book, but, it does not take a Sherlock Holmes to realize that there could not have been much research and even less practical application of this new method of ‘analysis’ that Hubbard had written. Apparently, some few years earlier, Hubbard had been using these methods described in his book to cure himself but there is very little mention of him using his techniques on other people during this period. Normally a work of such stature would take decades to gain scientific and clinical proof of the theories and practices of the subject. But, suddenly, very shortly afterwards, a complete book, that would have been the pride of a life times research, appears and is published and becomes, strangely enough, a best seller. It is a book that in 1950 could and did easily convince the mass, given that up to then what had been written on the human mind, by Freud or Jung for example, was complicated and difficult to understand. Hubbard, with his easy style of writing, certainly struck a chord with the population and the book became an instant success.

This beginning is important because it founded an idea that became very popular. If Dianetics had been written today in 2013, it would most certainly not have become a best seller. And it is because it was written during a different era  and became very successful, that today it still exists. When Hubbard realized that he was on to something good, he capitalized on his new made fortune and started to invent the whole subject of Scientology. Where Dianetics failed, Scientology took over and kept its followers in continual demand for new levels that were invented and spewed out by Hubbard over the years

But what of all those great things that Hubbard invented, like the ARC triangle or the book of Ethics or that astonishing machine and life saver, the E-Meter? How could one possibly do without those wonderful  inventions and writings?

I admit that the ARC triangle is quite neat and if used without obsession can , in fact, help resolve situations. But, do you really need all of the rantings of Hubbard to come away with a small, and in some ways, obvious, little tool that can help you. Benito Mussolini did some good things for the Italian people back in the 1930’s but does that make Fascism something that you should totally embrace? Like all dictators, any cult leader is going to give his disciples something that does work.

The book of Ethics is a much more sinister affair. On the outside, it has a general idea of making one a better person but closer reading shines light on a completely different intent. Here, in this book, we have Hubbard’s idea of total control over the individual. Ethics, as described by Hubbard, is not, in fact, a very workable solution to one’s daily life or in the work place of an individual. But, when applied to Scientology it has a manipulating effect which is the basis of all of Hubbard’s teachings. Not just his later works, but from the first day that the individual steps in to one of the Missions or Organizations, to take a starter course. It is here that the individual has to abide by the laws of Scientology and these laws are clearly stated in the Ethics book. To enforce these writings, there is an Ethics Officer or a Master At Arms whose job is to make sure that the individual is abiding by the very strict and totalitarian laws that govern Scientology.  And if that is not enough, then there are also Security Checks carried out by a member of staff, using an E-Meter and with a never ending list of questions that frightens even the hardest of members, the individual is made to confess all of his bad intentions and crimes. All of this derives from Hubbard’s book of Ethics.

I personally think that the E-Meter is a tool of enforcement to indoctrinate the individual. It is a clever machine that, in part, with the help of an auditor, can make one confess ones thoughts and crimes but at the same time, it is not so precise and the individual begins to make up stories that never existed so as to satisfy the auditor’s list of questions. In the end, the individual loses touch with his real thoughts and begins to imagine and make up things, which, of course, lead to the false beliefs of the upper levels of Scientology called the OT levels.

What I am saying, in fact, is that to be a Scientologist is far from being a free thinking person and is, quite obviously, an individual that is experiencing a forever on-growing lie that gets deeper and more detached from reality as time goes on.

Scientology is a bit like a rigged betting game. In the end you lose but often at the begining you win something and you believe that you can always win. So, you return and spend your winnings. You then begin to spend your capital and by this time you are hooked. You know that you can win and if you don’t win this time, then you will win the next time. Or maybe not.

This is a vague comparison to Scientology. You win, you get a good feeling, all the people around you seem to be winning, and so you carry on, even if you are losing.

But what really happens after that? Do you carry on winning like in the beginning? The answer is quite categorically, NO.

I have read many people’s accounts of their lives in Scientology and as ex-members, I have never found anybody that has really benefitted from the continuing courses of study and auditing in Scientology.

What has actually happened?

Quite simply, the individual has been indoctrinated in to believing every single word of Scientology.

I am not an expert on mind control but there are plenty of good articles on the internet that describe what happens to an individual when under the control of a group or cult.

All I can do now is briefly narrate my personal story of leaving Scientology. I am not going to talk here about the harassment and hounding for money for the IAS, SuperPower, Basics and all. That is another story. I am also not going to recount the lies that I was told. That, again, is another story.

Contrastingly to many other people that embraced the cult, I never really liked Scientology. In fact, in the beginning, I was very much against it. This in some ways makes my story more interesting because it shows haw a so called normal individual that has already been told that Scientology is not good, can get involved in the cult.

The reason I got involved was because I was frequenting a person that had already started Scientology, who later became my wife. My inner thoughts were against the subject of Scientology but I had a desire to be with this person and, as you can imagine, there were not many choices. Either accept Scientology or leave this lady. In retrospect, it would have been much more intelligent to have left her but this was not the case and I embraced Scientology, even though I was skeptical.

I did a beginner’s course and I had a success. After that, there was a Scientologist in the Org that needed a PC to audit the grades I to IV and I was chosen for this. I had never done auditing and of course it was a new experience and perhaps I even gained something from it. I say perhaps, because at this point I began to realize the importance of the ‘End Phenomena’ of an auditing cycle and I remember on one of the levels, the frustration of the auditor that I could not attain this wonder. In the end, it was almost spelled out to me and I realized what the End Phenomena was supposed to be! Obviously not very standard tech but it showed me that there was a fixed objective that was obviously identical for everybody. Scientology, in the end, is not an individual betterment programme, but it is a scheduled indoctrination that all members have to attain in the exact same form and manner. In other words you have to think and be like all other Scientologists.

Later on I decided to ‘Go Clear’ and bought some auditing intensives. I actually managed to attain the state of ‘Clear’ and finished my auditing cycle with what was called ‘The Sunshine Rundown’. This involved going out in to the city where I was being audited and simply look around. The ‘End Phenomena’ was supposed to be something to do with distinguishing people and places. Later on, I read that OT I is quite similar and has to do with realizing that ‘you’ are a Scientologist and everybody else out there are ‘Non Scientologists’.

I remember returning home feeling that I had attained nothing although at the time I sort of pretended that I was feeling good.

If somebody really wants to believe in Scientology, then I suppose it is possible to convince oneself that everything is just hunky-dory. But, a real analysis of the situation would tell you that you are kidding yourself.

Looking back on this time, the worst thing was that I did not realize that I was being indoctrinated. I was never a fanatic and I never talked about Scientology to any of my non-Scientologist friends and clients. I avoided the subject. However, I felt that I knew something that they didn’t know. When the word psychiatry or psychology came up, I cringed and felt anger.

At a certain point after many years, I had had enough and I really did not want to continue with Scientology but at the same time I was getting continuous phone calls from the Org to come to an event, have an interview or continue with study and I accepted these calls. I said that I was off lines but that I would contact them as soon as possible. In the end, I began to hate these calls and tried to invent excuses for not showing up at some event. However, I still protected the beliefs of Scientology. I felt that the problems of Scientology were to do with the individual members and not the Tech written by Hubbard.

In all this time I had NEVER been on the internet to find a different version of the story. This is interesting because for many years I had used the internet for my work and enjoyment. But I could not bring myself to click on a site, which surely existed, that was critical of Scientology. If you think about this, it is quite frightening. Maybe it’s a bit like the expression ‘no news is good news’. I guess I was afraid and certainly I didn’t know if I could believe in a critic of Scientology.

Then something happened. I had been separated from my wife for some time and had been frequenting a very beautiful person for more than a year but of course, she was not a Scientologist and I had never mentioned the subject to her. Then one day, in company of some friends of mine, the subject of Scientology came up. I was embarrassed when my friends asked me in front of everybody if I was still involved with the cult. I felt awful and tried, awkwardly, to explain briefly about how I wasn’t involved any more but I somehow managed to protect Scientology saying that it was correct that people could choose what they wanted to do. It was a terrible moment but it woke me up. I was kidding myself and had been for years.

My lady friend was very understanding and did not mention the subject for some time. I was totally confused. I was in love with her and I knew that Scientology would never be accepted (quite rightly) but I felt that I knew something that she and my friends did not know. I was miserable and I thought about Scientology and I realized that I didn’t like it. So what was the problem? Why not just shun it and get on with life?

The end of this story is amazingly brief but I would like you to reflect for a moment on this bizarre situation.

I think of myself as a bright person and certainly my family, friends and clients think this of me. So why would a bright individual, in love with a beautiful and intelligent woman, not be able to see through the teachings of a cult called Scientology? Very simple. That bright individual is brain washed. He does not know anymore how to distinguish fact from fiction. Very, very sad.

I had one possibility. Find out the truth.

I Googled Scientology and clicked on a site. There, I read a story of an ex-Scientologist that had been an OT VIII and had written his story about his time in the Organization. I could not believe what I was reading. I knew it was true because it was written in that language that perhaps only a Scientologist can really understand. Everything in this story hung together as real and I knew I was reading  the truth.

I clicked on another site and read a different story. It was the story of an ex-Sea Org member. It was astonishing but I knew that this poor soul was telling the truth. She talked about the same abuses and lies.

In all, I spent two whole days, almost non-stop, reading everything I could click on. I was mind blown by what I was reading. I discarded a couple of silly sites but almost everything I read was so true.

After these two days, I remember sitting back and thinking “My goodness! Wow!”

I remember getting up and walking around the room and although physically tired with sore and strained eyes, I felt good. I don’t think I had felt so good in a long, long time. I felt the need to say something, out loud, right there and then and I remember my exact words. They were “I deplore Scientology. Totally”. I found speaking those words out loud was very therapeutical for me. It was like an end to a terrible and long nightmare.

Why could I not have seen the truth many years before? It’s incredible.

Needless to say, I salvaged a wonderful story with an extremely fine woman. My only alternative was to carry on protecting the cult of Scientology, never understanding the real truth and to live a life of misery  and mind control, even if I wasn’t actually ‘on lines’ with the Organization.

In a way, I had the benefit of a choice, or rather, I would have lost a person that was very important to me. I don’t believe that such a choice should be necessary. What I do believe is that somebody that wants to get out of Scientology HAS to click on the internet and see for himself the truth of this Organization. I say the internet, because firstly, it is complete and has almost everything out there. Secondly it is easily accessible and is free and thirdly you can cross examine with different sites  and discard or compare to your heart’s content. You can ask questions and you can get replies. You can see videos and documentaries, sign up at forums and in a very short time, get a clear view of what Scientology really is. Once you have visited the internet sites you can buy some books on the subject to gain a deeper understanding.

It is unbelievable how in no time at all your whole view point changes. Every person has their own personal opinions but I find that most people who have left the cult have openly accepted, for example, some of the practices of psychiatry and psychology and to some it is even a God send. Immediately you realize that there are no Wogs in the world and all people are of equal standing. You can read newspapers and watch anything you like on television. Good, common sense is the order of the day and you are able to talk about all subjects with no prejudice or risk of being sent to Ethics or Security Checked.

This is the free world, where you can live in a democratic society, can speak your mind, have human rights and are never again controlled by a cult that promised freedom and only gave enslavement.

Please read my three short stories on Scientology here                                           http://wp.me/s3a0JR-21


May 3, 2013

'Stacy's Bill' heads to Gov.'s desk

Legislation spurred by deaths to regulate drug rehabs passes Okla. Senate

By Jeanne LeFloreStaff Writer

McALESTER — Legislation regulating Narconon Arrowhead and other drug rehabs is headed to the governor’s desk and could be signed into law this month.

On Wednesday, Senate Bill 295 co-authored by a Senate Democrat Tom Ivester D- Sayer and House Republican Jason Murphey R-Guthrie passed the Senate unopposed with the final vote at 43-0.

The legislation was written after an investigation into a string of deaths that happened within months of each other at Narconon Arrowhead.

Narconon Arrowhead is a non-profit drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Canadian that uses the teachings of Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.

The bill originally passed the Senate unopposed in February. Then in April the legislation passed the House Public Health Committee 9 to 1 with an amendment, the amended legislation went on to pass the House 80 to 13. The final Senate vote was Wednesday. It is now headed to Gov. Mary Fallins desk.

Wednesday, Ivester said he wrote the bill because of the deaths at Narconon Arrowhead.

 “It was the repeated deaths, that’s what did it for me,” Ivester said.

“That, and that nothing was being done legislatively about it.”

He said the legislation will force drug rehabs such as Narconon Arrowhead to be certified by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Heath and Substance Abuse, giving the state oversight over such facilities.

Narconon Arrowhead under a multi-agency investigation since the July death of Stacy Dawn Murphy, 20, of Owasso.

On Wednesday her father Robert Murphy was at the Capitol watching the Senate as the SB295 passed unopposed.

“I call it Stacy’s Bill and I’m happy it passed unopposed,” he said.

“It’s a great day.”

“It’s a great that it passed,” he said. “It’s a great day.”

After Stacy Murphy was found dead at Narconon Arrowhead in July 21, the case was investigated by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Pittsburg County Sheriff's Office and the Department of Mental Health.

The investigation expanded into the 2012 deaths of two others found dead at the facility. All three deaths occurred within months of each other.

In 2012, two months before Stacy Murphy was found dead, Hillary Holten, 21, was found dead in April, and Gabriel Graves, 32, was found dead at the facility in October of 2011.

Also under investigation was the 2009 death of Kaysie Dianne Werninck, 28.

Werninck died at a local hospital while a patient of Narconon Arrowhead.

Although no charges have been filed in the investigation, Dist. 18 District Attorney Farley Ward said the case is still under review.

Narconon Arrowhead has faced also numerous lawsuits with allegations such as wrongful death and employees trading drugs for sex with patients.

Earlier this year the National Association of Forensic Counselors permanently revoked the Certified Chemical Dependency Counseling certification of CEO Gary Smith and several Narconon Arrowhead employees, according to Karla Taylor president of NAFC.

Meanwhile a former Narconon Arrowhead president said Narconon Arrowhead needs the oversight by the state and the amendment tightening restrictions and forcing drug rehabilitation centers to be more up front about its ties to religious organizations is good news for people entering the Narconon program.

Lucas Catton, a former Scientologist, said he was president of Narconon Arrowhead for more than five years.

Catton said he left Scientology in 2011 after he began to question some of organization’s activities and was told to “fall back in line.”

 He said hopes the legislation will send the Narconon organization a message.

 “I think it shows that the people of Oklahoma won’t put up with what’s going on there.” Catton said.

“Narconon will have to play by the same rules as other facilities.”

“If the bill does what is designed to do, it will force Narconon to have to play by the same rules as other drug rehabs and it will force them to be honest and truthful about who they are and what they do.”

In April Narconon Arrowhead CEO Gary Smith issued a statement regarding the legislation.

“We have no problem with SB295.

However, we do not understand the amount of legislative attention that has been spent on (the bill) when you consider the number of critical issues facing Oklahomans that require legislative solutions,” Smith said in the statement.

Sen. Ivester said Wednesday the legislation could be signed by Gov. Fallin in the next few weeks. If signed, SB295 would become law in November.

Contact Jeanne LeFlore at jleflore@mcalesternews.com.